Pitch Black
by Kamari Targaryen
Summary: Blake confronts a group of disgruntled faunus, hoping to sway them from the path of violence. Loosely inspired by the Black trailer. Slightly AU. Rated T for mild violence.


**I own nothing. RWBY is the property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth Productions.**

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It was a dark, silent night in the city of Vale, the kind of night that was perfect for criminals to be sneaking about. It was the kind of night that most people would prefer to spend indoors, where they would be safe from whatever evils were lurking in the shadows. But for Blake Belladonna, it was the perfect kind of night, one where she could slip through Vale's streets undetected as she went about her business as a Huntress.

Blake wasn't like most Huntresses however. She didn't have the limitations that some of her compatriots did in terms of senses and reflexes. Her senses were heightened, her reflexes quicker, and the reason is simple. Blake is a faunus, a minority race in the world of Remnant who possess animal traits in addition to their humanoid forms. Blake is not the first faunus to become a Huntress, but she is the first to prove that humans and faunus are stronger united than they ever were apart. She is yet another graduate of the esteemed Beacon Academy and a member of Team RWBY, Beacon's most accomplished and respected team.

But none of that mattered tonight. Blake was on a different mission at the moment, one that was much more personal in nature. Since her graduation from Beacon the relationship between humans and faunus had gradually improved, thanks in part to Blake's success as a Huntress. Things had improved so much that even the faunus civil rights group the White Fang had largely ceased operations, much to Blake's surprise. But not all was well on the front of peace. There were rumors of a new faunus movement brewing and that was why Blake was out tonight.

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Blake paused in front of a decrepit building just off of one of Vale's main streets. The windows of the building were boarded up and the door was barely hanging on its hinges. It certainly had the look of a place where criminals would hang out, but Blake wasn't immediately convinced. After all, things are not always what they appear to be, something Blake knew all too well.

As she examined the exterior of the building, Blake kept an eye out for any sign of recent activity, her keen faunus senses alerting her to any sign of trouble. The building didn't look like it had seen any inhabitants in quite some time, but Blake could tell there was something off about the place. It had a..._feel_ to it, as though something bad had happened there and Blake was suddenly convinced that coming here alone had been a bad idea.

Just as she had that thought she spotted something out of the corner of her eye, moving quickly through the shadows to her right. The figure was lean and lupine, but with an obvious humanoid shape as well.

_A faunus_, Blake thought, her attention immediately drawn from the building. With the stealth and grace of a cat, Blake moved to follow the intruder, only to have something large and heavy hit her in the back of the head. The blow was strong and Blake felt her legs go out from under her before everything went black.

* * *

Sometime later Blake came to, her head pounding as though something was hammering on the inside of her skull. Her hands were bound behind her back with a thick, heavy rope that was also tied to the chair in which she was seated. She had no idea where she was, though she could tell it was somewhere underground, thanks to the dank smell of the room. The room was dimly lit, with barely enough light to see the opposite wall. It was also strangely silent, as though Blake was the only living creature within.

However, as her senses cleared Blake became aware of various sounds. The steady dripping of water somewhere to her left was the first sound that greeted her. Following that came the skittering of rats in the walls and the faint hum of the single light that hung above her. And finally, after several minutes of listening came voices, muffled and indistinct, but growing closer with each passing second. Curious to learn the identity of her captors, Blake held her breath and waited, hoping whoever was approaching was a friend.

She didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute later the voices stopped outside the room and a heavy iron door swung open, letting in a rush of cool air that made Blake shiver. Two figures entered the room, one of them considerably larger than the other. Blake could instantly tell that both individuals were faunus, though they had a much more feral nature than any other of her kind she had encountered before.

"Well, looks like the little kitty is finally awake." the larger faunus said then, his grin showing razor sharp canines.

"Who are you?" Blake asked, her tone calm. "Where am I?"

"You're beneath the city." the big faunus answered. "As for who we are, well that's not really any of your concern."

"Tell me who you are and I won't have to hurt you." Blake threatened, sounding far more confident than she actually felt.

"Hurt us?" the smaller faunus laughed. "And how, exactly, are you going to do that? You're tied up and we have this." He grinned and held up a black katana in a sharpened sheath, a long ribbon hanging from its hilt.

Blake's breath caught in her chest. How had they gotten _Gambol Shroud_? She never let others touch her weapon, except for her teammates, and yet somehow this ratty little bastard had gotten his hands on it. And then Blake realized the obvious. _Of course, they took it off me while I was unconscious_, she thought, her gaze never leaving the smaller faunus.

"You think I need my weapon to hurt you?" Blake asked, suddenly changing up her approach. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Of course we do." the smaller faunus answered. "You're Blake Belladonna, the famous Huntress from Team RWBY and a traitor to your own race."

"What?" Blake asked, honestly shocked. "What do you mean I'm a traitor to my own race?"

"You attended Beacon, became a Huntress and in doing so, turned your back on the cause." the big faunus answered, his tone gruff.

"What cause?" Blake asked. "The war is over. Faunus and humans are equals now. How are you not understanding that?"

"We understand just fine." the big faunus replied. "We understand more than you ever will. You say we're equals with the humans now, but we're not. And we never will be. As long as the humans are around, we faunus will never get a fair shake."

"So, what? You're just going to kill all the humans, is that it?" Blake asked, still shocked by what she was hearing.

"Exactly." the big faunus answered. "We are the new faunus resistance and we will do what the White Fang never had the guts to do." He grinned again, his pointed canines gleaming in the dim light like little white knives.

"Then you're insane." Blake said. "The White Fang was not the answer and neither are you. The only thing you'll get from violence is more violence."

"Spoken like a true deserter." said a familiar voice from the doorway, a voice that made Blake's blood go cold.

"Adam?" she whispered, as the speaker stepped into the light.

The man was tall, with red hair and a white mask that obscured his true features. A long sword hung from his hip and he wore a smile that made Blake's breath catch in her chest again. It was a feral smile, the smile of a killer, and this was indeed her former parter, Adam Taurus.

"Hello Blake." Adam said, still smiling. "Been awhile."

"Adam, what are you doing here?" Blake asked, a note of pleading in her voice. "Why are you working with these...these..." She trailed off, unable to call the other two what they were.

"Oh Blake, you always were so naïve." Adam said. "I'm not working with them, they're working with me. We are the new resistance, the new White Fang, and we will have our revenge."

"Your revenge on what?" Blake asked, with more fear in her tone than she'd intended.

"Everything." Adam answered. "Humans, the old White Fang, anyone who gets in our way. Anyone we want, really."

"You won't get away with this Adam." Blake warned, her gaze meeting his. "You don't have the strength. Most faunus won't join you in this crusade."

"Is that what you think?" Adam asked, his tone surprised. "Well, allow me to dispel your notions about my chances of success." He paused and glanced at the other two faunus, before adding, "Bring her and take those ropes off. She is our guest, not our prisoner."

The big faunus nodded, before hauling Blake to her feet. He slashed the rope binding her wrists with his claws before leading her from the room, Adam and the smaller faunus following close behind; Adam keeping a close eye on Blake's movements.

They walked down a long, dark corridor that ended in front of a massive wooden door. The big faunus pushed it open with his shoulder, leading Blake into a massive, high ceilinged room in which were gathered some five hundred faunus, all of whom bore the logo of the White Fang, now accented with black and bearing the inscription "Faunus Above All."

Blake felt her breath catch in her chest for a third time as she took in the sight before her. Every faunus in the room was armed to the teeth and many had the same feral appearance that the two beside her did. She had never seen such a large gathering of militant faunus before and in that moment she realized Adam was right, this new White Fang could do whatever they wanted.

Before she could say or do anything however, Adam stepped forward and turned to face her. "Welcome sister Blake." he said, his tone gleeful. "Welcome to the future of the world. Welcome to the Red Fang."

Blake did not meet his gaze, nor did she respond to his proclamation. Instead, she glanced at the big faunus beside her, who still had a firm grip on her shoulder. For half a second she stared at him, her eyes boring into his, and then she twisted to her left, kicking out for his crotch.

To her dismay, the faunus avoided her kick, leaving her vulnerable to his counter attack. However, she too was able to avoid being hit and as the big faunus reached out to grab her, she grabbed him, wrapping her legs around his arm. With a quick downward jerk she snapped his shoulder from its socket, leaving the faunus writing in pain on the floor. Before Adam or any of the others could react, she had already incapacitated the smaller faunus and regained _Gambol Shroud_, which she swung around in front of her to shield against attack.

For a moment none of the other faunus moved, all of them shocked by how easily Blake had escaped the big faunus' grip. And then Adam sprung into action, his blade _Wilt_ flying from its sheath, _Blush_, with lightning speed.

Blake rolled to her left, the sharpened sheath of _Gambol Shroud_ swinging to deflect _Wilt's_ trajectory. Before Adam could make his next move she flung the katana portion of _Gambol Shroud_ at him with tremendous force, the long black ribbon unfurling as the blade sailed through the air. The blade swung around Adam in a wide arc, the ribbon wrapping around him in an ever tightening bond, until he could no longer move. Blake then yanked on the other end of the ribbon, bringing Adam stumbling towards her as she turned to face the rest of the faunus in the room.

"Fellow faunus." she began. "Why are you following the path of violence? Have you forgotten how that path made us look when the White Fang used it? I understand that you want better lives, but this is not the way to get them."

"They won't listen to you Blake." Adam scoffed. "They don't just want equality. They want a world without humans, and you represent the old way of thinking. They will never follow you, no matter how sweet your words may be."

As he finished speaking Adam nodded and the other faunus swarmed towards them like a mindless horde. Realizing she would be torn limb from limb if she stayed where she was, Blake unwound the ribbon and leaped into the air, the ribbon instantly recoiling to bring the katana back to her hand. Once the blade was back in her grasp, Blake revealed the pistol hidden in the katana's hilt. As she momentarily hung in the air she fired off a volley of shots at the crowd below her before swinging the now sickle shaped blade towards the rafters. The blade hooked on an exposed pipe and Blake swung to the scaffolding built into the wall on the opposite side of the room, safely avoiding the attacking faunus in the process.

"Well, go get her." she heard Adam shout, but she didn't look back to see if she was being pursued by the horde.

Spotting a small opening ahead of her, Blake quickly made her way along the scaffolding, hoping the opening was large enough for her to escape. Thankfully it was and she emerged moments later on the Vale docks, nearly a mile from where her evening had begun. She could hear the horde coming after her, but she wasn't worried. By the time they reached her location she would be long gone, leaving no trace that she'd ever been there at all.

Blake knew that Adam wasn't done with her. He would try again to get her to see things his way, but at that moment she didn't care. All she could think about was that rumors had been true. There was a new faunus resistance, only this one was worse than the White Fang had ever been. And that was sure to mean war, something Vale could not afford to deal with again. But Blake knew all was not lost. There were still faunus who were committed to peace and as long as that remained true, the Red Fang would never truly be a threat, no matter how dark the shadows seemed now.

**End.**

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**A/N: And that's Blake's fic. As with Blood Red and Snow White, this fic sets up my upcoming multi-chap RWBY fic. The common thread that will tie over from this fic to that one is the Red Fang. I did not reveal everything about them in this fic and you will have to read the multi-chap if you wish to learn more. The two faunus who initially greeted Blake will pop up again and will be named, eventually. Adam will also make more appearances, though not all is what it seems with him. Finally, look for the fourth and final one shot sometime in the next week (this one will be about Yang). That's all for now, hope you enjoyed. Cheers, KT. **


End file.
